Haas driver Oliver Bearman arrives in Formula 1 with an unexpected amount of experience under his belt.
At the beginning of 2024, Oliver Bearman was preparing for an F2 campaign with Prema alongside Mercedes rookie Andrea Kimi Antonelli.
The Italian outfit struggled with Formula 2’s new cars throughout last year, but just as Bearman was getting into the swings of things by securing pole position in Jeddah, his career took an unexpected turn.
Suddenly, Ferrari had to call upon Bearman after Carlos Sainz required immediate appendix surgery.
The British teenager was chucked in the car and qualified P11 before securing six points for the Scuderia.
Bearman received plenty of praise for his performance in Saudi Arabia and was suddenly on Haas’ radar as a potential option for the 2025 season.
They decided to take the plunge on the youngster and he repaid their faith by scoring points in Baku when deputising for the banned Kevin Magnussen.
Although Bearman had a much tougher time in Sao Paulo, those three Grand Prix provided some important experience for him to identify what he’s already comfortable with when racing in Formula 1, and what he needed to spend this winter working on.
Oliver Bearman knows he needs to get ‘stronger and stronger’ during debut Haas campaign
In an interview with BBC Sport ahead of the 2025 season starting, Bearman was asked about the step up in physicality to become an F1 driver and said: “Yeah, it’s certainly a big step.
“I found out the hard way in Jeddah, but yeah it’s a big difference, particularly on the upper body and the neck, but also cardio.
“So yeah, [a] big step, more physical, I’ve been working really hard on my neck in this off-season to make sure I’m ready for round one.
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“But when I’m in the car, it’s going to be building up by itself [which] is the best way to train up your neck is by driving, so, hopefully, it’s going to be getting stronger and stronger throughout the year and I’ve just been working hard in the gym and cycling too.
“I love cycling and it’s a really good way to prepare for the season.”
Oliver Bearman faces difficult battle against Haas teammate Esteban Ocon
Bearman understandably finished behind Charles Leclerc on his debut in Saudi Arabia but turned heads at Haas by beating Nico Hulkenberg in Baku.
His opportunistic move after a safety car in the final moments of the race earned him a point and saw the German settle for one of his seven P11 finishes in 2024.
Bearman also technically got the better of Hulkenberg in Sao Paulo too despite his struggles, after the 37-year-old was disqualified for being given outside help to continue in the race after getting marooned on the exit of turn one.
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Bearman was asked about the dynamic between himself and new teammate Esteban Ocon and continued: “We’ve got along well.
“We’ve been laughing a lot through some challenges that Haas has put us through, so that’s been funny.
“And yeah, I’m just really excited to start the season with him. Of course, he has a lot of experience in F1, and I’m looking to see what I can really learn from him and hopefully, we can push the team forward as much as we can.”
Bearman and Ocon have been predicted to clash this season at some point given the Frenchman’s history.
While his less experienced teammate is unlikely to back down, he’ll have to learn the best way of racing the one-time race winner.
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